ADDRESS OF 

HONORABLE FRANK S. BLACK 

AT 

CARNEGIE HALL 
New York 

OCTOBER 30, 1908 



t-7€0 



ADDRESS OF 

HONORABLE FRANK S. BLACK 

At Carnegie Hall, New York 

October 30, 1908 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen — Whoever approaches 
this political situation with no guide but the platforms of the 
two parties, is likely to be lost in the fog. The strange sounds 
about him will be more apt to confuse than direct. These sounds 
are not the words of assurance and command which captains 
deliver who know their course, but rather the sounds which 
sailors make when throwing each other overboard. 

We are therefore denied two sources of light which often we 
have had. Those in command do not inspire general confidence ; 
their destination is not settled and many fear that their business 
may be to prey upon some things which the majority of mankind 
desires to protect. So it is not fair to blame a timid man if he 
stays ashore awhile to get his bearings. His task even on the 
land will not be easy. Assertions this year are uncommonly 
strong, but the facts do not always bear them out. Promises 
are made with the extravagance of a bankrupt, but they do not 
convince as they might if promises had not been broken ever 
since men began to cheat each other, which was early in their 
career. Charges are flying thicker than they ever flew before, so 
thick that the hope that any man will escape seems unreasonable. 
But if these charges are true, the majority belongs in jail. There 
are but few righteous men abroad, hardly enough to act as 
turnkeys for their incarcerated friends. If these charges are 
true it would be hard for the honest men to support those who 
should be in prison, for it must be observed that some of the 
most conspicuous of these honest men have derived their incomes 
mostly through public salaries paid in large part by malefactors 
on whose activities the dungeon is again about to close. 



So it must be that things are not always as described. The 
only thing for us to do, then, is to examine for ourselves. We 
may not be right but it will pay to> be intelligent. I would say 
that it will pay to be honest, but that word has been used so 
many times by those who never knew its meaning that I flinch 
when I come to it lately. The first thing necessary to a fair 
start is to refuse to be affected by any kind of humbug. This 
will be difficult, for while in times past the humbug business has 
seemed so free and simple that most any one could do a little for 
himself, it has late years been so cornered and improved and 
the output has been so incessant and attractive that most every 
one has bowed to the humbug trust because, compared with 
that, he was ashamed of anything he could do himself. 

But while we are in this anti-trust crusade let us start fair by 
first killing off this biggest one of all. 

On examination we find some things to depress but more to 
encourage. But the present we must take as we find it. We 
must deal fairly with ourselves, for whoever tries any other way 
will only waste his time and had better join the crowd and go 
along with that. The things we ought to know seem plain 
enough and an hour's time by each man with himself ought to 
head him out into the clearing. 

These things at least are obvious : the unparalleled prosperity, 
so lately here, has taken wing. The demand for laborers which 
a year ago could not be met, now finds them by thousands idle 
on the streets. Luxuries which seemed within easy reach last 
year have in many cases been exchanged for the necessities of 
this. The discussion is no longer whether existing plants shall 
be enlarged, but whether they shall run at all. Organizations of 
labor, instead of dictating the terms of their employment, are 
drawing on their treasuries to help the unemployed. Capital, for 
years possessed of courage to enter any promising expedition, 
now deems itself unsafe unless every night it can return to the 
vault. 

These changes have not come through lack of money, for all 
that was here a year ago is here now. They have not come 
through over-supply of labor, for hundreds of thousands have 
returned to the shores from whence they came. They have not 



come because the ground, the source of all our fortunes, has 
refused its bounty, for it has produced in such abundance as 
to surpass most previous years. No plague or wide calamity 
has appeared among us. The general health has been robust, 
and over all, the blessings of peace have rested unruffled and 
serene. 

What has so rudely altered the conditions of American life? 
It is the abrupt and violent departure of that quality without 
which no business will ever be freely done, without which 
civilization would stand still in its tracks — the confidence which 
men have toward each other. Confidence never leaves without 
calling in a substitute to take its place. That substitute is sus- 
picion, the hangdog of all the human traits. With that on guard 
no worthy human motive ever stood a chance. Whoever, without 
cause, brings about that substitution, has taken on himself a 
load which neither he can throw off nor his name live down. 

The departure of this confidence occasioned no surprise. It 
could not be expected to remain. The public mind has not been 
free from those charges which have kept it at the highest point 
of apprehension. W r e have not been content to discover and 
punish, but have sought rather to promulgate such charges as 
should chain the attention of the populace by arousing its anger. 
We have exhausted ourselves in the indictment and then with 
no attempt at proof, have abandoned it for new sensations. We 
should have done far better for the welfare of our people and 
the fame of the country if we had framed true accusations and 
pursued them to the end. 

No man has the right to claim exemption from the penalty 
of his deeds. If he has abused his power, even though it be the 
power of wealth which he himself accumulated, he has invited 
the enmity of those he has injured and deserves the punishment 
the law provides. But he is the one on whom that punishment 
should fall. The state is strong enough, the law is just enough 
to punish the evil-doer without embracing in its chastisement 
those whose only connection with his wrong was to be the victim 
of it. The claim that those who hold this view are the friends 
or paid defenders of the criminal, is both unjust and cheap. 

The impulse of fair play in those who really have it, demands 

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that every dog shall have his day and believes that every man 
is as good as any dog. 

I desire not that the guilty should escape, but that the innocent 
should. If this cannot be done the law is a sham. If it can be 
done the prosecution which fails to do it is a sham. I believe 
in punishing the guilty but I do not believe in pursuing the 
culprit by firing into the crowd. He is always on his guard and 
gets behind some other man while all the rest are unawares and 
likely to be hit. In all this turmoil we have not delivered one 
single culprit over to the warden but have sent thousands of in- 
nocent bystanders to the hospitals. 

If I object to the slaughter of the innocent and the escape of 
the guilty you can never clean your own record by calling me the 
culprit's friend. Some time this will be clear to everybody's 
mind and then the day of broadsides at the crowd and mock 
trials at the county fairs will be over. 

But the most dangerous aspect of our condition is not the 
shrinkage of our physical comforts. It is the prevalence of dis- 
content, the belief that more should be had than is given, the 
constant and growing hunger for illegitimate advantage. Labor 
never demanded so much and returned so little ; money never 
augmented its earning power with so unbridled a disposition to 
cheat ; public servants never in so many cases fooled the people 
and substituted deception for honest work. The moral tone has 
been relaxed. Those forces which we have been accustomed to 
regard as the greatest menace to stable government, have now 
become potential with the government itself. Herein lies our 
greatest danger and we must call a halt and return to the basis 
of good faith. 

The difficulties which beset me are not mine alone. Few men 
of intelligence are this year uttering political hosannas. The be- 
lief is not uncommon now that it will pay to listen to the admoni- 
tions of the industrious who have, as well as to the mutterings 
of the discontented who desire. We have long taken counsel 
of that discontent with a patience and docility that make us 
marvel. 

We have belabored wealth until there is no phrase known to 
incontinent speech we have not applied to it. Reaction has 

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become a hardly less ferocious word than treason. But our re- 
forms have all been oral ; we have punished no one. And during 
this protracted carnival the price of many of the necessities of 
our daily life has mounted higher and higher. Meat, grain, 
clothes, have all gone steadily up. We have set our traps and 
covered them with vituperation and been caught in them our- 
selves. We have danced long and boisterously, but no man can 
truly say that we have not paid the fiddler. 

These harsh conditions bear not alone upon the poor but most 
heavily on him. The indirect and shadowy rebuke to the wrong- 
doer which comes to him only as one of the populace punished 
as a whole, is trivial and hardly felt. Such wrongdoer is often 
powerful and intrenched, and the loss to him is comparatively 
slight, while the weak and unoffending suffer losses they never 
can repair. Capital suffers least of all, for its shrinkage is but 
momentary. The lost value speedily returns, but labor's sacrifices 
can never be made up. Capital lives for years, but labor only 
for a day. When the sun goes down it sets forever on that day's 
opportunities. The value of your railroads will come back. Your 
houses will continue to fulfill their uses, but the unperformed 
labor of today is as the rain that did not fall and is worth no 
more. 

This problem then is for the laborer and he must take it up. 
And when he starts again he had better turn a cold shoulder to 
those who have charged all his troubles upon others and examine 
himself to see whether any of the fault is his. 

Our conditions ought to be changed. The sentiment of the 
country is a unit at least on that. How can this change be 
brought about? There may be many ways, but whatever they 
are they will all be affected some, by the policy of the gov- 
ernment for the next four years. That policy will soon be de- 
termined and if discussed at all it must be done now. A political 
election is not a cure-all, but is nevertheless a substantial in- 
fluence. That makes it important to dispose of it right. 

There are only two parties, Mr. President, to be considered, 
and the standing of each must be determined by its history, its 
platform and its candidates. Neither platform is in all respects 
such as a great party ought to draw. I claim the right to say 

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this because this is a year when platforms count for less than 
ever and even candidates make their own. The line of division 
between the two old parties is nearly erased. Their claims are 
too similar to allow any bitter discussion. To the discredit of 
both parties they are in the field partly as bidders for votes in- 
stead of solely as advocates of great principles. The declaration 
by each upon the subject of injunctions is shifty and insincere 
and unworthy of a great political body. The courts of this 
country have been its main reliance. This has been true even 
when every branch of the government was content to operate 
within its constitutional grooves. Now when the tendency seems 
unchecked to encroach and over-ride, the deliberate submission 
by both parties to the most dangerous spirit abroad must fill 
every patriotic American with misgivings and regret. 

But leaving the platforms out, the history and the candidates 
of the two parties still remain. To repeat the history of the 
republican party is only to recite the best political achievements 
of the human race ; to enumerate those names which still inspire 
the lofty sentiments of gratitude and veneration ; to appeal to 
those emotions which in every age have sustained those spirits 
which aspired to equality and freedom. Not now can it be said 
that that history needs to be proclaimed. There is no slope or 
valley round the world where men still dream of liberty and hope 
for broader opportunity, where that history is not the chart and 
compass that indicates the open way. I shall call no witnesses 
and file no brief. The figures, times and places may be found 
in any pamphlet. The details have all been sounded over with 
the weary iteration of a moving train. 

Whoever wants the tariff or the public debt, tbe population 
or the export trade, can find it in the census, in the campaign 
hand book or in those illuminating speeches by which the public 
is now being depressed and educated. 

The republican party means more than these to me. It means 
the purpose and the power of the law to keep an open space 
round every man while he works out his own salvation. It 
means a guaranty which gives strength and courage to the toiler 
because he knows that what he earns by day shall belong to 
him at night. It means a government which shall encourage 

6 



without leading, and protect without meddling. It means an 
influence vital and continuous, for higher citizenship and broader 
national purposes. If it did not mean these things it would not 
inspire me. My veneration and regard for that party are not 
weakened by the temporary embarrassments in which it now 
appears. I prophesy that its future will be no less brilliant than 
its past. The unsteadiness of the present will pass away and it 
will again become the party of order and sobriety. 

In this belief I am encouraged by the character of the can- 
didates whom that party has proposed. There have been few 
candidates of either party whose general equipment for the office 
of President has been better than that of William H. Taft. He 
comes from a distinguished family. His father bore an honored 
name and his high character was transmitted to his sons. The 
education of the candidate, his temperament, above all his char- 
acter and disposition, fit him for large responsibilities. In the 
next four years changes may occur in the Federal Supreme 
Court. The functions of that great court permit no ostentation 
and its acts seldom attract the public notice. It is nevertheless 
the most powerful and constant safeguard in our government 
of all the rights which free men prize, and by far the strongest 
guaranty of the continuance of the government itself. The 
patriotic citizen might well cast his vote with his eye fixed on 
the future of that great tribunal. Mr. Taft's long and brilliant 
training at the bar and on the bench will assure the high char- 
acter of that court which it has always, and never more than 
now, maintained. He has no traits which are erratic or unstable ; 
he is the embodiment of sense and candor. He is neither vain- 
glorious nor showy, but the unbroken record of his manhood 
is one of substantial achievement. He is neither quarrelsome 
nor boastful, but as solid as the rocks. He has ambition, for 
most Americans inherit that, if nothing else. But he will not 
rise on any man's misfortunes. He will not kick another who 
is down nor crowd him because he has the power. He has told 
you that. No brave man ever does and Taft has the courage to 
be fair. There is no opinion too humble to be admitted to his 
consideration, but the one he acts on will be his own. Any 
citizen of the country can approach him but not all of them can 

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carry him away. Neither rich nor poor need fear an injustice 
nor expect an advantage. The doctrine of fair play will not 
struggle for new or peculiar meanings but will go back to its 
old one, which is by far the best. With him at the helm the 
ship of state will not go scudding from the shoals to the rocks 
and back again. He will put it in calm water and steer it himself. 

But they tell us he believes in the present policies of the Repub- 
lican party. Let no one be alarmed at that. Every Republican 
in the country so believes. Those policies are not new. They 
are older than the party is. 

A square deal for every age, rank and condition ; is that new ? 
Were the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Federal 
Constitution framed by a party that did not believe in a square 
deal ? An equal chance for rich and poor ; is that new ? Is the 
party that elected Lincoln, a man so poor he borrowed money 
to get to Washington, a party that panders to the rich ? Honesty 
in private and public life ; is that new ? Did that party which 
gave to William McKinley a measure of affection and respect 
which the annals of this country hardly parallel, bestow their 
confidence on him because they thought he was degraded? 

I, as one self-respecting citizen of this great country, resent 
the imputation that I did not understand years and years ago 
the meaning and the value of virtue, courage and integrity. 

Those policies that have made the country great ; those charities 
that have covered the land with the pledges of fellowship ; that 
courage that has leaned against the bayonet for conscience sake ; 
that sense of justice that canceled every worldly tie for a negro 
and a slave — all these are new, they tell me, and came here only 
yesterday. 

They are not new. They are as old as human consciences and 
kept the world together ages before any soul now living ever 
saw the light. 

Taft believes in these things and it will be a desolate hour 
in this great land when a majority of his countrymen do not 
believe them too. 

But the policies themselves should not be confounded with 
their interpretation. An even temper, a balanced mind, a level 

8 



sense of justice and a continuing courage can be trusted not to 
reach conclusions distorted or grotesque. 

A square deal will not be a trade mark, but a principle. Wealth 
will not be favored nor labor fed on flattery. Whatever is yours 
you will have without barter, and mine you cannot have at all. 
Justice will be done, not as in a play, with climax and excitement, 
but as the orderly, natural and expected procedure under a fair 
and intelligent government. 

If you are satisfied with that you will never find a candidate 
who will fit more squarely with your views of what a President 
should be than Taft. 

Mr. President, the Democratic candidate has called again, but 
we have seen no occasion to revise the answer so often given, 
and I shall not repeat at tiresome length the reasons for that 
answer, now for years well known. Mr. Bryan's chief service 
to the country has been in three times keeping the Presidential 
nomination from some other Democrat who might possibly have 
been elected. His views are startling but not new. They are too 
old to take anybody unawares and too many of them have just 
been tried, and with results too distressing, to recommend their 
continuance. We do not need further excitement, we need rest. 
There are millions of people and hundreds of interests that have 
not had a long breath in several years. We have been on the 
double quick so long that to many the prospect of camp for the 
night seems like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 
Its attractiveness would not lessen if the prospect for rations 
should improve. A good performer is not always a good pro- 
vider. We have learned that and the invitation to prolong the 
entertainment falls now on many unresponsive ears that formerly 
were eager. Excitement may at times attract, but food has not 
altogether lost its charm. That is why so many who have already 
fasted long enough will not vote to prolong it under Mr. Bryan. 
It is generally true that state campaigns, important though 
they are, are swallowed in the broader field of national affairs. 
This state affords this year a singular exception. I do not re- 
member when a candidate for Governor in any commonwealth 
has attracted the attention and chained the interest which has 
followed the Republican candidate for Governor of New York. 

9 



This arises from the fact that that candidate presents to the 
American voter a unique and remarkable figure. With no 
political experience, with no taste for political affairs, with an 
unwavering preference for that profession in which his distinc- 
tion has been great, he is yet thrust by circumstances to the very 
pivot of public attention. He has become, through no intention 
of his own, the subject of a controversy somewhat unusual and 
severe. Party lines this year are more relaxed than they have 
been in my remembrance, but around the Governor the con- 
troversy has gathered with peculiar heat. It is this that leads 
me to present him to my fellow citizens as he appears to me. His 
ability is large. His industry exceeds that of any other Gov- 
ernor I have known. His fidelity to the public interest never 
tires. He has no back door to the Executive Chamber, but the 
front door was never open wider. They call him cold ; that 
is not true. He is democratic, affable and sincere, but his friend- 
ship is for principles rather than for men. Whatever his attitude 
may be he at least believes it to be right. His powers of com- 
prehension and his mastery of public affairs are the marvel of 
those familiar with his performances, while his genius in forensic 
discussion has attracted the eyes of the whole country to his 
state. 

One trait I have not named, I mean his independence. That 
appears in every act of his career, perhaps too much. But in- 
dependence begets a feeling in others of confidence and safety 
not often experienced in these days, for then we know that no 
public or private right is the subject of trade or favor. And 
independence is so rare and fine a thing that I do not withhold 
my admiration for it even though it runs a little wild. 

The people of this country have long pictured such a man as 
the highest type of public servant. Their sincerity as well as 
his record is the issue now. 

Mr. President, I have not believed that anything I might say 
would affect those whose minds are made up as soon as the 
party label is pasted on, or that other class, now so numerous 
and fervid, who hope by disparaging success to justify their own 
failure to attain it. I appeal rather to those whose party al- 
legiance has been sorely tested by the substitution of fantastic 



personal impulses in the place of established Republican prin- 
ciples. I appeal to those who understand the structure of our 
government, who realize how far its functions have been per- 
verted and who would make any sacrifice to see those functions 
restored to their normal and intended spheres. I know those 
aberrations which have so alarmed us have occurred under the 
party emblem, but that is not a reason either for approving 
them or for deserting the high standard on which so many 
glorious achievements are inscribed. I am a firm believer in 
political parties and their organizations. I believe that any man 
who throws down his friends will, when it serves him, throw the 
people down. Whoever does not love the human being does 
not love the human race. As between the heart and conscience 
I would rather have the heart. But I am not misled by names 
or banners. A party name does not always represent that party's 
history or ideals, and policies do not always come true to seed. 
Every name worth having is likely to be used for unworthy 
purposes. Charity, philanthropy and religion have been used a 
thousand times to cover cheats, but not by that was one believer 
dissuaded from the true cause. Great men long dead are often- 
times maligned and their parts are even played by actors on the 
stage, but not by that is a single character pulled down from 
its pedestal. The name of statesmanship has been applied to acts 
grotesque and shocking, but not by that was the just fame of 
one statesman tarnished or reduced. 

So has the power of the Republican name been used to mask 
performances which no true Republican would father or con- 
done, but not by that are its principles shaken or its history 
wiped out. Checked and perverted they may be, but only for 
awhile. To-morrow they will swing along their way again with 
strength and courage all the more splendid and assuring because 
of the punishments they have just passed through. The Re- 
publican party is still the highest guaranty of constitutional gov- 
ernment in this world. And to that party should still adhere 
those patriots throughout the land who still retain a memory 
and a hope. 



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